Shutdown Corner

Ben Roethlisberger weds Ashley Harlan; Merrill Hoge adds labor update

On Saturday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger married the former Miss Ashley Harlan at Christ Church in Ohio Township, just northwest of Pittsburgh, in a ceremony that was marked by heavy security. However, nobody tried to keep Steelers linebacker James Harrison out of the ceremony, despite his recent disparaging remarks about the quarterback.

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"Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again," Harrison said in a recent interview for Men's Journal magazine, blaming the quarterback for the Steelers' 31-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. "Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain't that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does."

Of course, the big news during the ceremony may have come from former Steelers fullback Merrill Hoge, who dropped this little (unconfirmed) bombshell via Twitter:

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Other Steelers luminaries included team owner Dan Rooney and former running back Jerome Bettis. Invited guests were required to show photo identification, as a group of fans camped out to watch the spectacle.

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No attendees were available to the media, though several fans spoke to the Associated Press on the scene. "This is the best part of my day," said local resident Dolly Metz. "I know he was supposed to send a limo for me too, but it broke down."

The 29-year-old Roethlisberger married the 26-year-old Harlan, a physician's assistant from New Castle, Pa., after the specter of two sexual misconduct claims against him. Roethlisberger has said that restoring his public image is important to him.

"It certainly is a step in the right direction," observer Linda Moule said. "Like anyone, it's a coin toss on if it will last. This is certainly not Prince William and Princess Katherine."